How do I correctly report product not as described?
There is another seller with an offer on my product's listing. I have purchased the product from their offer (completing a test buy). After receiving the product and seeing that it is indeed NOT the same as our product on our listing (the color and size are different, and it doesn't include the correct branded product insert card), I have tried reporting the violation in several ways:
1. I went through the "Report Abuse" tool found on my Account Health dashboard in my Seller Central account. I selected the "Products received are different than the description on the detail page" option, submitted a detailed description of what was wrong with the received product, and included the order number.
I have actually tried this method multiple times, but to no avail. I know that Amazon will usually not respond for those particular cases to tell me what resolution they decide on. All I can see is that the seller is still active on my listing.
2. I went through Brand Support in my Brand Registry account and selected "Product not as described" under "Report a Marketplace Violation". I submitted detailed information and then received this response:
Hello,
Notices of intellectual property infringement must be submitted through Brand Registry or our online notice of infringement form (https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement).
If you are reporting ASINs in different Amazon stores, use our online notice of infringement form in the Amazon store where the reported ASINs are listed.
If you are appealing an action taken on your account for an intellectual property complaint, please submit this information by clicking the Appeal button on Account Health (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_mpa).
If you believe sellers are listing incomplete or inaccurate products against the detail page, we ask that you contact us directly (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/cu/contact-us).
Please resubmit your notice of infringement through one of these channels so that we may process your complaint.
So, they're telling me to contact seller support directly since I "believe sellers are listing incomplete or inaccurate products against the detail page". I created a case with Seller Support, and they told me to use the "Report Abuse" tool or to try going through Brand Registry (which I, of course, have already done multiple times). They are just sending me in circles without ever fixing the issue. Also, something to note, while one can report a counterfeit item through brand registry (only if the TM is registered), this issue is not necessarily a trademark violation. This is a POLICY violation. According to Amazon, it is against their policy to list an offer for a product that does not exactly match the description on the detail page, regardless of whether or not that product is brand registered.
Does anybody have some wisdom on how to navigate this issue more effectively?
How do I correctly report product not as described?
There is another seller with an offer on my product's listing. I have purchased the product from their offer (completing a test buy). After receiving the product and seeing that it is indeed NOT the same as our product on our listing (the color and size are different, and it doesn't include the correct branded product insert card), I have tried reporting the violation in several ways:
1. I went through the "Report Abuse" tool found on my Account Health dashboard in my Seller Central account. I selected the "Products received are different than the description on the detail page" option, submitted a detailed description of what was wrong with the received product, and included the order number.
I have actually tried this method multiple times, but to no avail. I know that Amazon will usually not respond for those particular cases to tell me what resolution they decide on. All I can see is that the seller is still active on my listing.
2. I went through Brand Support in my Brand Registry account and selected "Product not as described" under "Report a Marketplace Violation". I submitted detailed information and then received this response:
Hello,
Notices of intellectual property infringement must be submitted through Brand Registry or our online notice of infringement form (https://www.amazon.com/report/infringement).
If you are reporting ASINs in different Amazon stores, use our online notice of infringement form in the Amazon store where the reported ASINs are listed.
If you are appealing an action taken on your account for an intellectual property complaint, please submit this information by clicking the Appeal button on Account Health (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_mpa).
If you believe sellers are listing incomplete or inaccurate products against the detail page, we ask that you contact us directly (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/cu/contact-us).
Please resubmit your notice of infringement through one of these channels so that we may process your complaint.
So, they're telling me to contact seller support directly since I "believe sellers are listing incomplete or inaccurate products against the detail page". I created a case with Seller Support, and they told me to use the "Report Abuse" tool or to try going through Brand Registry (which I, of course, have already done multiple times). They are just sending me in circles without ever fixing the issue. Also, something to note, while one can report a counterfeit item through brand registry (only if the TM is registered), this issue is not necessarily a trademark violation. This is a POLICY violation. According to Amazon, it is against their policy to list an offer for a product that does not exactly match the description on the detail page, regardless of whether or not that product is brand registered.
Does anybody have some wisdom on how to navigate this issue more effectively?
0 replies
Seller_4zBzdtgCyS9EI
I "believe sellers are listing incomplete or inaccurate products against the detail page".
Why do you keep trying to report that an item is not as described, when your issue is an IP violation?? They even tell you what it is and how to report it!
Jim_Amazon
@Seller_NGapscl66gMzJ
One further question I want to ask on top of everything: what violation type are you selecting when reporting this through Brand Registry?
Sometimes the way things are worded can help advocate on your behalf when reporting violations so understanding this can help me let you know what direction we should take!
-Jim
Seller_4zBzdtgCyS9EI
Problem is, "not as described" reports don't get looked at.....
Seller_mPcPEjFxxAGfB
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer but my dad taught law, so I learned a little bit.
You might also try sending a free "Cease and Desist" letter, by certified mail, return recipt, free as its adapted from a site like rocketlawyer. If they ignore it, you may need to pay an attorney to at least file for discovery, etc. When you do this, you might also inform Amazon that the other party is alleged to be selling counterfeits that violate your IP and would they suspend that product, until a court could adjudicate it? Its a lot easier than Amazon having to recall and refund all the purchasers of a violating product.
Hope this helped and good luck.
Seller_NaEy7NOsIT9d8
Is this some kind of superfluous business card that you insert so you can claim what your competitors' sell are "not as described"? If so I doubt that it is a relevant point of product differentiation.
Seller_Sram36TnVt73c
This is a case of a seller reporting a seller. It has little teeth.
If you were an Amazon buyer, and you complained, it might get more traction.
Since the listing is not brand-registered, you are further hampered in getting any resolution.
About 4 years ago, overseas sellers jumped on a hot listing with similar but non-matching product. The listing was not branded/restricted, but 4 test buys and 4 reports to Amazon yielded 2 being yanked and 2 being left on the listing.
Are you submitting photos clearly showing the correct vs. incorrect product in your complaint(s)?
Seller_5TM5timqClSHH
We're in this same situation. Completed test buys, confirmed it wasn't the same brand and wasn't even manufactured in the same country as described in the listing. Our trademark is currently pending so it can't be enforced through that. Regardless, they shouldn't be allowed to sell it under our listing because, like you said, it's a policy violation. We aren't sure what else we can submit to get someone to look into it.
@Jim_AmazonWould you have some insight to how we could move forward with this?
@Seller_NGapscl66gMzJIf you find a solution please update us!
